The Author

The author, Jonathan Wilkins, is an X-ray diffraction analyst in a small laboratory service company
situated in North Wales, X-Ray Mineral Services Ltd.
Previously he was software development supervisor and data network manager for geophysical instrument manufacturer
Robertson Geologging also in North Wales.
Click here for more information on personal profile.

He is younger than the last RT, but not a lot. His enthusiasm for the London Country bus arises
from a childhood spent in darkest North Hertfordshire, where the celebrated 303, 716 and other
routes passed in view of his bedroom window. In those distant days a Green Rover ticket was a
cheap and effective passport to travel the Home Counties, and was widely used in the early
seventies. Sadly, no camera was carried on these trips.

From 1974 to 1978 he studied geology, chemistry and computing at Leeds University, before
graduating with an MSc in geochemistry. While missing developments back home, he discovered
that Leeds City Transport had a few AEC Regents left, some fine Roe-bodied Atlanteans and a few
rather futuristic-looking AEC Swifts.

Returning to Hitchin, he joined the ICL company, where
he was a programmer on the 7500 communications processors at Letchworth Development Centre. This
introduction to the online world probably led to an early interest in computer networking. It
took another 15 years for the market to develop to the point where a personal online presence
was feasible. These pages are the result.........

By 1982 life in ICL was becoming claustrophobic and uncertain, so he joined schoolfriends
to run Dawnstoke Computer Services, a small company specialising in repairing minicomputers by
COMPUTER AUTOMATION - the intriguingly-named NAKED MINI series. Finally, the call of the rocks
became too strong to ignore, and the family moved to North Wales (and seldom looked back).
Eventually it became necessary to import a London Country bus to complete the picture, as this was easier than taking the
mountains back to Hertfordshire. Expertise in software and Internet is dispersed by way of consultancy to selected
charities and individuals who wish to establish their own Internet presence without acquiring the necessary expertise.

Other interests include growing cacti,
geology and researching the roots of his family - so if you have
Wilkins relatives from Burton-on-Trent, London or Hampshire please use the email link to make
contact. Maybe the family tree will be added to the site one day.